Chicago Bears having success on third down during their 6-2 start

CHICAGO (AP) — Offensively and defensively, the Chicago Bears are quite good on third down.

Chicago is off to a 6-2 start, and third down efficiency is a major reason for its success. The Bears converted 7 of 15 third downs during Monday night's 34-17 win at Seattle, and the Seahawks went 1 for 11 in those same situations.

“We believe in each other,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “It’s not just offense. We wouldn’t have this belief without the defense. We wouldn’t have this belief without the special teams. We know we have each other’s back. We work our tail off as a team. The details, how detailed we are. It’s really cool see those things come to life in big moments and just throughout the game, so that’s who we are.”

Chicago has allowed an NFL-low 19 third down conversions in 80 attempts this season. The opponent third down conversion rate of 23.8% also is the lowest in the league.

Of course, most of those numbers were compiled before the Bears acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in a blockbuster trade with Tennessee on Thursday. He had a sack in the victory over the Seahawks.

The addition of Simmons could help the team sustain the success it has enjoyed on third down.

“It’s definitely what you want as an edge rusher, having a great interior," defensive lineman Austin Booker said. "With Jeff, it’s opened things up. We’re getting to the quarterback and we’re winning, so you can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Chicago also leads the NFL with 51 third down conversions on offense. It went 3 for 4 on third down on its first possession against Seattle, part of a 17-play drive that Williams finished with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Luther Burden.

“Yeah, that’s us reverting back to our training,” Williams said. “We do these long drive drills that in training camp and OTAs that you hate, that you dread at the end of practice. It’s hot, all of that. They show up in big moments for us like today.”

D’Andre Swift rushed for three touchdowns to give him 10 on the season. He became the first player to rush for 10 or more TDs for the Bears in the first eight games of a season since Rick Casares in 1956.

The 27-year-old Swift finished with 27 carries for 69 yards in the road win.

“Swifty ran super hard,” coach Ben Johnson said. “I know he didn’t have a ton of yards, but 27 attempts and three touchdowns, every single yard was earned by him. Those are hard yards to come by.”

Penalties continue to be an issue. Chicago was flagged 10 times for 85 yards, compared to five for 43 on Seattle. The Bears have been penalized 31 times for 287 yards during their three-game win streak.

Booker tipped a pass that was intercepted by James Lynch, leading to Swift's last touchdown run of the night. Booker also blocked a field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter. It was Booker's first career blocked field goal and the first by the Bears since Week 4 in 2025.

“He does a great job,” Johnson said. “He takes no plays off. I think when you play like that, good things will come. They might not come often or all the time but the more you keep chipping away with that mentality, they’re going to continue to come your way.”

Colston Loveland had seven receptions for 65 yards, but the tight end also lost a fumble early in the fourth — leading to a Sam Darnold touchdown pass and 2-point conversion that trimmed Chicago's lead to 20-17 with 11:46 left.

There was no update on defensive linemen Grady Jarrett (groin) and Kentavius Street (knee) on Tuesday.

4 — Chicago has four double-digit wins this season, tops in the NFL. The 17-point margin at Seattle was Chicago’s largest primetime road victory over a team above .500 since a 38-20 win over the New York Giants on Nov. 12, 2006.

Chicago hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in its last of three consecutive primetime games. The Bears are 40-22 against Tampa Bay, including a 23-6 record at home, but the teams haven't played since the Buccaneers' 27-17 win on Sept. 17, 2023.

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Chicago Bears defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, right, tries to get to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, left, as guard Grey Zabel tries to stop him during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift is seen after a sticker pealed off his helmet during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson reacts during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago Bears wide receiver Jahdae Walker, left, and quarterback Caleb Williams celebrate after the Bears defeated the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Investigators found part of the tail of the jet that crashed in South Florida more than a mile from the crater caused when the aircraft made impact.

National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said during a news conference Tuesday that the discovery of tail parts broken into three pieces confirms the plane was breaking apart before it hit the ground.

The plane wouldn’t have been able to pull up from its nose dive without the tail intact, and Chapman said he’s not sure it would have been effective even if it was complete because of the extreme speed of the aircraft's descent.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.

The pilot of a business jet that crashed in Florida, killing all nine people aboard, was a longtime aviator, husband and father from the Philadelphia suburbs, according to a colleague who organized an online fundraiser for his family and social media posts from people who knew him.

Jeff Gregory, 55, was one of two crew members in the cockpit of the Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 as it encountered bad weather and slammed into the ground Sunday afternoon in Greenacres, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) southwest of West Palm Beach.

As the plane plunged, a man’s voice could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the background of the copilot’s final radio transmissions to air traffic control. Friends are convinced it was Gregory, a devout Christian.

A federal investigator said Monday that parts of the jet likely started to break off before it struck the ground. Gregory’s co-pilot, 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, told air traffic controllers that ice was accumulating on the plane and that severe turbulence had thrown it up and down by more than 700 feet (210 meters).

“We’re going to die!” she said with a scream before the jet slammed into the ground and erupted in a fireball.

Thomas Noetzel, the director of operations at the company that operated the flight, Upper Jets, organized an online fundraiser to support Gregory’s wife and children.

Gregory was a close, personal friend and “knowing him has made me a better person,” Noetzel wrote on the fundraising website GoFundMe.

“Jeff was a devoted, conscientious, and deeply faithful man who had a genuine passion for flying and a strong love for the Lord ,” Noetzel’s father, Walter, posted on Facebook. “His journey on earth may have ended, but I like to think he is now flying among the angels, soaring peacefully in the presence of our Lord.”

Gregory held airline transport pilot and flight instructor certificates, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. He lived in Gilbertsville, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, and had previously worked for a charter company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

“We are deeply saddened to learn that Captain Jeff Gregory was among those who lost their lives,” said April Honnen, the director of charter sales for East Coast Jets, Inc., where he worked in 2016 and 2017. “Our prayers go out to Jeff’s family, his fellow crew member, the passengers and everyone affected by this heart breaking tragedy.”

The Learjet hit the ground with enough force to create a crater before bursting into flames. The impact scattered plane fragments over a large area.

Images of the moment just before the aircraft made impact appear to show the horizontal stabilizer missing from the tail. About 600 nearby residents remain displaced, but only one injury was reported on the ground.

The plane took off from Austin, Texas. The victims included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife, Helen Sharp, and their two young children, relatives said.

Filgueiras' stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, told the New York Post that she texted her boyfriend about 10 minutes before the crash, telling him: “I’ve got turbulence, I’ve got ice.”

The texts were sent before the situation became critical. In the last two minutes of the flight, Filgueiras shifted from calmly communicating with air traffic controllers to calling out terrifying updates as the plane plummeted.

The FAA prohibits commercial airline pilots from using cellphones at any point during a flight. The rules aren’t as strict for pilots of charter flights; they are not supposed to use cellphones during critical phases of flight, such as takeoffs and landings, but are allowed while cruising at altitude unless their company or pilot in command specifically bans it.

Tom Chapman, a National Transportation Safety Board member, said Monday that weather would be a key focus of the investigation. A preliminary report describing what happened will be released in about a month, but it will likely take more than a year to determine the cause of the crash.

This image taken from Aki Kuusisto's video shows a small jet crashing in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Aki Kuusisto via AP)

Investigators work at the scene of a plane crash in Greenacres, Fla., Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Police stand near the scene of a plane crash in Greenacres, Fla., Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)